Qualcomm CEO discusses the company’s post-Apple future – 9to5Mac

As Apple continues its years-long breakup with Qualcomm, the chipmaker’s CEO says he is already looking beyond the iPhone, as he tries to reassure investors that the company’s long-term plans don’t depend on Cupertino’s roadmap.

Speaking on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon downplayed the consequence of its high-stakes relationship with Apple, saying the company is already planning as if the iPhone maker will fully move to its own in-house modem in the next few years.

“That’s our contract, you know, and if we don’t get a new contract, that’s what it is,” Amon said. “And there’s so much drama and association about the Apple relationship, which I think is not warranted, to be honest.”

Qualcomm has long been Apple’s primary modem supplier, with estimated revenue between $5.7 and $5.9 billion annually.

The current licensing agreement between the companies expires in 2027, and the ramp-down has already begun. Qualcomm has said that it expects to be in about 70% of iPhones this fall, dropping to 20% next year, and hitting zero by the 2027 iPhone lineup.

Android and beyond

“We’re planning our business assuming that they are going to use their own modem,” he said. “And what’s exciting about the company is all of this growth that we’re creating… including on Android.”

Beyond phones, Qualcomm is betting big on automotive, IoT, and once again, centers. After a false start years ago, the company recently announced a new push into AI-powered server chips, hoping to position itself as a complementary player to Nvidia’s dominant GPUs.

It’s an increasingly crowded field, to be sure. With AMD, Intel, and ARM all eyeing similar opportunities, Amon believes the total addressable market is large enough to support a disruptive new entrant.

“It’s a massive TAM and will continue to grow at very high growth rates for decades,” he said. “If we can build something unique and disruptive, there’s room for Qualcomm.”

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